This invention was the subject matter of DDP Registration No. 161,056 filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Jan. 2, 1987.
As most knowledgeable hunters are aware, tree stands are an extremely effective means by which to hunt deer with either a bow or a firearm.
While many tree stands found throughout the country are of the permanently constructed type, over the last fifteen years or so, the portable and/or self-climbing tree stands have received widespread acceptance by the hunting fraternity.
Coincidence with the introduction of mass produced and relatively inexpensive all terrain vehicles, a hybrid rolling tree stand device has started to make an impact on the commercial market. Examples of some of these hybrid devices may be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,614,252; 4,625,831; and 4,442,919.
While all of the aforementioned rolling tree stand devices are more than adequate for the purpose and function for which they were specifically designed, they are deficient in a number of important respects in that: they either require the presence of a tree as a stabilizing factor in the ATV borne versions; or, they are so bulky as to require a trailer hitch to tow the independent stand or tower behind an ATV or the like.
Obviously in situations wherein the hunter wishes to hunt a corn field or a cut-over timbered area none of the aforementioned prior art devices would be considered to be practical, due to the absence of trees to support the stand, or the inability of the towing vehicle to maneuver through the standing corn or around and over stumps while pulling an independent wheeled tower.
Given the fact that cornfields and recently cut-over areas produce excellent hunting conditions, due to their natural tendency to attract the deer to a readily available and plentiful source of food; it is not surprising that most hunters have found the aforementioned prior art devices to be both impractical and limited in their effective usage. As a consequence there has existed a long standing need for an improved collapsible tower for ATVs that would overcome the deficiencies of the prior art constructions in that the tower could be deployed on any terrain that the ATV alone was capable of negotiating, without the necessity of the proximity of an independent stabilizing object.